Racial divide increases in infant mortality

COLUMBIA -- African American infants die at greater than twice the rate of white infants, a disparity that has worsened, according to data from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

The agency said South Carolina’s infant mortality rate in 2011 remained stable at 7.4 deaths per 1,000 babies born.

“Although the 2011 rate is 12 percent better than just five years ago, we still have a lot of work to do,” said DHEC director Catherine Templeton in a news release Friday. “Our goal is for every baby to be born healthy and live a long, healthy life.”

Templeton said of 57, 338 births recorded in the state during 2011, the number who died before their first birthday was 423. The rate was the same in 2010.

The difference between ethnic groups has increased.

The rate for white babies improved from 5.5 in 2010 to five for every 1,000 in 2011. Black and other infants died at 2.4 times the rate as white infants in 2011. A year earlier, the rate was twice that of whites, according to DHEC.

Nationwide, about 25,000 infants die each year. The causes include birth defects, sudden infant death syndrome, complications in the mother’s pregnancy, and conditions related to being born too early or too small.

“We will work to prevent congenital birth defects by promoting the use of folic acid among women of childbearing age,” said Templeton.

“Our Women, Infants and Children program and family planning clinics are providing educational materials regarding the important role that nutrition plays in the health of the mother and her baby."